Page 107 of Body Shot

“He loves Conquistadors,” I whisper. “And he loves you guys, too.”

“Yeah.” Marco clears his throat. “But sometimes duty calls.”

I nod and swallow. “Yes. I know that.” I know that only too well. Heaviness fills my chest. “Well. Good to see you, Marco. Take care.” I start to turn away.

“Hayden.”

“Yes?” I pause and lookover my shoulder.

“Areyouokay?”

“Oh. Sure.”

“’Cause you look really . . . wiped out.”

“Great.” I roll my eyes but smile. “It’s been a rough week. At work. With Beck. With my aunt and uncle.”

“Huh?”

“Long story.” I hitch a shoulder. “But I’m fine. Bye.”

I walk out of the restaurant and to my car, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, even though my body feels stiff and cold.

Beck left. And he might not be coming back.

I’m halfway home before I realize tears are streaming down my face.

Beck

I still haven’t made a decision, but I know I have to talk to Cade and Marco before I do. I owe it to them, and to be perfectly honest, I need their input. They feel more like my family now than my blood relations do, but apparently blood has some kind of pull, because I’m seriously thinking about staying in Boston and working for Whitcomb Industries.

So it’s Saturday night and I’m on a plane winging its way across the country from one coast to the other. I arrive back in San Diego at eight-thirty, retrieve my car, and head straight to Conquistadors. I need to talk to my buddies, although I’m not sure if they’ll both be there tonight.

They are.

I walk in. A bunch of regulars, including Dussen and Joe and Helena, greet me. I pause to chat with them. Everyone asks how Dad’s doing. Huh. Apparently word has gotten out why I’ve been away.

“He’s doing well,” I tell people. The angioplasty went fine. Dad stayed in the hospital for monitoring and went home today. They have some nursing care coming in to assist, and he needs to take it easy for a while, avoiding stairs, and there are some new medications he has to take. My parents were disappointed that I left, but what else is new. I’ve disappointed them my entire life.

“Hey, man!” Marco greets me with wide-open arms, then a backslapping hug. “You’re home!”

“Yeah. Cade here?”

“He’s in the office.”

“We need to talk.”

“Yeah, we sure as hell do.”

I frown. “What does that mean?”

“Why didn’t you tell us Hayden dumped you?”

My chest clenches. “How’d you know that?”

“I ran into her this afternoon. She didn’t even know what had happened with your dad, and that you’d gone to Boston.”

I shrug. “No. Why would she care?”

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